Cat Fist Fury

Disclaimer: How did I get into this?

< >: Thoughts

                                 Chapter 24
                                   Part 2
                                Tiger's Rage

"RIP CLAW SLASH!"

White Claw was surprised at the speed in which Ranma moved, as he barely
managed to block the swipe. He smirked as he gripped his opponent's wrist
and then lashed out with a kick. Ranma however, raised a knee to parry the
attack, then slammed his head against White Claw's. 

Both combatants reeled back. White Claw had not expected Ranma to try such
a brutal attack so early in the battle. Kojiro had not expected White
Claw's head to be so hard. The two backed off to get some fighting room and
to clear their heads. Behind them, the crowds watched with interest.

"Not bad for openers." White Claw allowed.

Ranma growled at him. "I'm just getting started." His chi flashed for a
moment before he leapt up and fired off his eyebeams.

"CAT'S EYE BEAMS!"

White Claw countered with his own and there was a flare of light as the two
chi attacks canceled each other out. However, Ranma dived down toward him
with claws blazing.

"DIVING CLAW!"

White Claw leapt back as Ranma slashed down at him, then crouched down to
sweep out with a leg. Ranma was knocked off balance as he landed and went
down. The kohlinjar then hit home with several punches to his foe's ribs,
but Ranma bit down the pain and put himself into a reverse somersault,
lashing out with a kick.

"SABER SLASH KICK!"

White Claw almost managed to avoid the attack as he leapt back, but then
felt a bit of a stinging sensation on his chest. He looked down and saw a
huge rip in his tunic and a red gash forming.

"Interesting. I see you have developed new attacks and you are now using
your legs. Excellent!" White Claw marveled as he ran a finger across the
cut.

"There's plenty more where that came from!" Ranma growled as he took
another ready stance.

"Yes, I should think so." White Claw said as he began focusing his chi.

"Go get him son!"

"Win back the dojo's sign! We can have the wedding afterwards!"

Ranma became startled at the sound of Soun and his father's voices and
looked over to his right. His eyes became momentarily wide and then
narrowed as he addressed his adversary. "What the HELL are THEY doing
here?!" Ranma had been concentrating solely on White Claw since he arrived,
that he did not notice that the Tendos and the Amazons were present.

White Claw gave Ranma another one of his irritating smirks and said, "Oh I
thought you'd might appreciate some encouragement, so I invited your
father, the Tendos and the Amazons here to cheer on you on. After all, you
are fighting to win back the dojo's sign, aren't you?"

"LIKE HELL I AM!" Kojiro spat back. "I COULDN'T CARE LESS ABOUT THAT SIGN!"

"Oh? So you are not fighting for the Tendo's dojo?" White Claw thought for
a moment, then shrugged. "Oh well, it doesn't really matter now. After I
have dealt with you, I'll just destroy the sign."

Ranma shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Be my guest. Though you're going to
find that I'm not as easy to 'deal with' as you think!"

"I am COUNTING on it!" White Claw sneered as he took up a stance as well.

On the sidelines, Genma and Soun became horrified at Ranma's indifference
to the dojo's future.

"FOOLISH BOY! AS THE HEIR TO THE SAOTOME SCHOOL OF ANYTHING GOES MARTIAL
ARTS, IT IS YOUR DUTY TO..."

FFFFFFT! THUNK!

Genma's tirade was cut short as a silver object whizzed by his face and
imbedded itself into a tree that was beside the bleachers. Genma looked
over and saw that it was one of Ukyo's throwing spatulas. He then turned
his line of sight to where the weapon had come from and winced as he saw an
angry Ukyo holding up several more of her mini-spatulas and giving him a
deadly glare.

"Ko-chan's doing this for HIS sake, not yours!" Ukyo called out. "After
he's finished with White Claw, YOU and I are going to settle things!"

Genma gulped a bit and wondered where he could find some cold water.

Back in the center of the arena, White Claw began powering up his aura.

"When last we met, I had only used a small sample of my abilities. You have
shown me a few of your new techniques, so now I shall demonstrate a few of
my own! WIND CLAW CUTTER!"

White Claw suddenly made a fast clawing maneuver that caused the air around
him to let off a snapping sound. Ranma wondered just what he was doing. He
was too far away to cut at him... or was he?

Ranma got his answer a millisecond later as he felt a sudden rush air rake
against him. He winced as he felt sharp pain along his right arm. He heard
cloth being ripped and then backed off as the wind passed. Looking down he
saw that he now had a large rip on his gi's top, and red blood was
streaming down from a gash on he shoulder. He looked back up at his foe.

<Damn! He can actually use high air pressure to cut at me from a distance!
> Ranma then saw him make several more of those moves and leapt to the side
to avoid the attack. 

"WIND CLAW BARRAGE!"

The ground where he had just stood suddenly exploded as the attack tore
into soil. Large gashes appeared on the grass and Ranma knew that the
attack would have sliced him to ribbons. However, White Claw wasn't the
only one who could slice from a distance.

"CRESCENT SLASH BARRAGE!"

Several sickle-shaped blasts came hurtling toward the kohlinjar, but to
Ranma's dismay, White Claw easy dodged them and came leaping at him in a
flying sidekick. His extended foot glowed with a strange light and Ranma
barely ducked the kick. He heard another ripping sound, looked over his
shoulder after his opponent passed by, and saw that the back of his tunic
had a large rip in it. Fortunately, the attack missed touching his skin.

White Claw smirked as he made a lazy flip and landed a few meters away.
Turning around, his eyes narrowed in respect. "Very good. You evaded my
Razor Wind Kick. That has rarely been done before."

"Yeah? Well try this on for size!" Ranma charged at him and threw several
high-speed jabs and a reverse roundhouse kick. White Claw blocked the
punches, then lashed out to grab the leg by the ankle. He pulled back and
then slammed Ranma to the ground.

Ranma however, did a handspring after impact and sent both of his feet
plowing into the face of White Claw. The kohlinjar reeled backward as Ranma
used his face to springboard away. The young Cat Fist fighter made a neat
flip, then rushed at his opponent.

"TIGER CLAW FRENZY!"

White Claw recovered quickly and countered.

"WHITE CLAW STORM!"

The two delivered slashes at each other that were so fast, that the Tendos,
Genma, Ukyo and the Amazons were unable to track their movements. Cologne
was amazed to see two techniques that put the Chestnut Fist to shame. 

After a few seconds, Ranma bit down and winced as attacks of White Claw
were getting though. He had to back off and block by crossing his arms. He
then felt a hard impact to his gut and was sent back twelve feet. He
managed to stay on his feet, despite the fact he was off balance and the
wind was knocked out of him from his foe's kick. He looked down and saw
that his arms had dozens of cuts on them. Looking up at his opponent, he
saw that White Claw had come out of the exchange without a scratch.

The Felinar's eyes narrowed as he gazed at his adversary. He was surprised
that Ranma had been able to match his speed, even for a few seconds, but he
still failed in scoring a hit. "A pity. I thought you would have improved
much more, since our last encounter and..."

That was when he felt a slight sting and wetness. He looked over to his
right shoulder and saw the sleeve was cleanly sliced and a large cut was
bleeding. He smirked and turned his attention back to Ranma.

"Splendid! You are indeed the opponent I had longed for!"

On the sidelines, Ukyo let off a cheer. "Go get him Ko-chan!"

Back on the field, White Claw took a ready stance. "Now then, shall we get
serious?" He triggered his transformation and grew as he assumed his hybrid
form.

Ranma had no choice but to follow suit. In an instant, two humanoid cats
faced each other.

On the sidelines, Kasumi, Nabiki, Shampoo, and Ukyo all became entranced at
the sight of the exotic-looking Ranma and his opponent. Brittany Diggers
sighed, but then hugged her husband Stripe. Gina began wondering if she
should do some... Er, scientific physical examinations on Ranma later on.
She never did get to do it the last time they were in Japan. Brianna
whistled. Now her was someone she could sink her teeth into! As for Akane,
her thoughts were along the lines of < He IS a freak! How can anyone find
him attractive? No Way! Not me! Uh Uh! Why is it so warm? >

At the booth where the Council was sitting, Jagular leaned over to one side
and whispered to Pantheron. "I must admit, this Kojiro is quite impressive.
However, are you sure that he is the one?"

"I am positive my lord." Pantheron said. "Look to his right shoulder."

The old leader did so but could see nothing. "I don't see the mark."

"Oh that is right. I forgot that you could not see it, since you do not
have the gift of Bastet's eyes as my clan does. Here." Night Stalker placed
a hand on his shoulder and focused his power into his leader. Jagular's
eyes glowed red as he looked at Kojiro again. He caught sight of the mystic
symbol of Bastet imprinted on him, which seemed to glow with a light that
could not be seen by normal eyes.

"Now I see. He is the one!"

Night Stalker nodded as he disengaged the link between them.

White Claw and Ranma exchanged several dozen blows in less than an
eyeblink. In their hybrid forms, their already extraordinary speeds,
reflexes, agility had more than quadrupled, and they were now fighting on a
level that wasn't humanly possible. Jabs, uppercuts, roundhouses, slashes,
blocks, sidekicks, straight kicks and roundhouses were thrown at a pace
that defied imagination. It was like watching a high-speed fight from
Dragonball Z! 

Ranma dodged a deadly knife-hand thrust to the chest, but was a fraction of
a second too slow, as White Claw then sent several jabs to his midsection,
followed by a right cross to the chin. He was sent reeling to the side, but
White Claw grabbed the front of his tunic, pulled him back, and then
delivered a roundhouse kick to the other side.

Kojiro managed to bring up an arm to deflect the kick, but the force of the
impact sent him leaning over to the other side. White Claw followed through
with a kick to the other side, which slammed Ranma back up. The former heir
to the Saotome School of Anything Goes was bent over a bit as the kohlinjar
raised both hands up, laced his fingers together into a double fist and
brought it down toward the back of his neck.

Ranma however, tensed up and then sprang forward. The top of his head
slammed into White Claw's chin, snapping his head back. As White Claw
reeled back, Ranma took the opportunity to land several hard blows to the
midsection, followed by a slash.

"RIP CLAW SLASH!"

White Claw bit down and resisted the urge to cry out. The slash was far
more intense than what he had felt when they last battled. White Claw
brought up a knee, which connected with Ranma's face, sending him back.
Both combatants leapt away from each other to get some more fighting room
as the crowds cheered them on.

White Claw looked down and saw that his tunic had been sliced in half and a
deep chest wound stained his white fur. He smiled back at Ranma.
"Excellent! How I have missed the pain of battle! I've forgotten how
wonderful it feels!"

His opponent said nothing as he shook his head to clear it from that last
blow. That was when White Claw leapt up high into the air, crossed his arms
in front of him and then brought them down in a sweeping gesture.

"RAINING FANGS!"

A barrage of small, but pointed chi bolts exploded forward. Ranma went into
a series of evasive maneuvers, avoiding most of those deadly slivers.
However, a few of them nicked his shoulders and arms. However, as White
Claw was coming down, Ranma did a handspring and launched himself
upside-down at his foe. One leg was extended with the foot glowing with
chi.

"RISING SLASH KICK!"

White Claw moved with unbelievable speed and caught the foot as it came
toward his face. There was a horrible sting, but he held on. While they
were still in midair, he pulled on the leg, and swung his opponent over his
head to throw him down toward the ground.

Midair combat was the specialty of Ranma's branch of Anything Goes though.
Just as White Claw was throwing him down, the Cat Fist fighter twisted to
his left and thrust out with his other leg. The foot hit a nerve on the
hand that was holding his leg and caused it to lose its grip. As soon as
Ranma was free, he swung toward White Claw as they were falling to the
ground and kicked out with both feet, hitting him squarely on the chest.
The kohlinjar was slammed away and hit the ground hard on his back. When
Ranma hit the ground, he rolled to the side to absorb the impact and then
got to his feet.

That was when Ranma heard a roar and saw something white and huge charging
at him. In the instant that White Claw landed, he had shifted to full tiger
shape and was now coming down on him like a runaway freight train. He
barely had time to shift to his own feline form as White Claw plowed into
him.

Meanwhile, as the battle continued to rage, in the abandoned control tower
of the airfield, five followers of White Claw were secretly watching the
fight through telescopic lenses. However, they weren't using binoculars.
The lenses they were looking through were part of targeting scopes, which
went well with the sniper rifles they were using. These people were not
Felinar, but assassins from the Yakuza. Using his connections within that
organization, he had arranged to have the entire High Council eliminated.
Since the members of the council rarely made a public appearance, Ranma's
Combat Challenge was the perfect opportunity to get the leaders of the
Felinar out into the open. The assassins were at maximum kill range and
were using long-range ammo. Getting close to the council was not possible,
due to their heightened senses, the amount of guards they usually had with
them and the fact that they led secluded lives, making them difficult
targets. Therefore, White Claw had enlisted the services of the Yakuza's
best long-range snipers. When the kohlinjar gave the signal, the men would
open fire and kill the leaders. In the ensuing confusion, the rest of White
Claw's most loyal of followers would take out Night Stalker and his
entourage, leaving the Felinar in a state of disarray. Then the rest of the
Yakuza that he had hired would come out of their hiding places and close
the trap. With White Claw and his army on the inside, and the Yakuza with
their weapons trained on the outside, the Felinar would have no choice but
to surrender. The cat people may be powerful, but even they could not
survive against a small army that was well-equipped and ready to open fire
at a moment's notice. Of course, he would have to deal with the Amazons and
the Tendos, but they were considered minor at best. 

With the council and all witnesses out of the way, White Claw's leadership
of the Felinar would be complete and he would be free to do as he saw fit.
The alliances he had with the criminal underworld would be strnegthened as
he promised them great power and welath. Of course he planned to
double-cross them when their usefulness was at an end. With their
resources, White Claw plans now took on a global scale. It was an audacious
plan and one that promised grat rewards. It also courted total disaster if
it failed. However, as he had said before, what was the point of having it
all, if it wasn't for the risking?

As soon as the fight escalated to its peak, White Claw would give the
signal for the coup to begin. Of course, he was getting quite the battle
from Kojiro. Defeating him would not be easy, but this was also something
that White Claw lived for. The thrill of battle and facing off against a
worthy opponent. The adrenaline rush and the way his blood burned as it
surged through his veins made hunger for more. He wanted Kojiro to give his
all so that he too could cut loose. This was the real meaning of the Neko
Ken! Every punch, kick, slash and countermove reflected the raging tiger
spirit within them and he wanted this fight to be the most memorable. Of
course, there was the possibility that he would lose, but the fact that
someone was actually giving him a decent fight, even scoring several hits,
made the combat all the more exhilarating!

As Ranma and White Claw continued to mix it up, Felicia discretely made her
way to a better vantage point in her cat form. As she headed toward some
bleachers, she caught a glint of sunlight that reflected off something
metallic out of the corner of her eye. She looked to her right and then up
at the old abandoned control tower. She saw the slight flash again and her
natural curiosity got the better of her. She decided to investigate.

Meanwhile, Ranma, in his tiger form,was slammed down and pinned on his back
as White Claw pounced on him. His foe's fangs glinted in the light as he
prepared to use them on Kojiro's exposed neck. However, Ranma managed to
free one of his paws and slammed it into the right side of the kohlinjar's
head with claws extended. White Claw was momentarily dazed and Ranma used
the slight advantage to free himself. Rememering back to his fight with
Brittany Diggers, he morphed to his hybrid form, planted his feet against
White Claw's underside and pushed off. The white saber-tooth was thrown off
as Kojiro did a handspring to get back to his feet. As he faced off against
White Claw, he saw that the tiger's head now had four slash marks lining
its right side. The beast let off an angry roar and morphed back to White
Claw in his hybrid form. The kohlinjar gave Ranma a glare as he ran a
finger across the cuts that he now sported on his right cheek. As with all
Felinar, White Claw's body had begun healing the injuries with its amazing
recuperative powers. Within a few days, there probably would be only slight
scars or nothing at all. Still, the fact that Ranma managed to come close
to killing him gave him pause. If Ranma had aimed for his neck, instead of
his face, then the fight could have been over. It was just a lucky thing
that Ranma had struck at a bad angle.

"Of all the opponents that I had faced, you are quite possibly the only one
that has lasted this long!" White Claw said with grudging respect.

"I don't intend to just last longer! I'm going to BEAT YOU!" Ranma snarled
as he began powering up his chi again.

"I welcome your challenge!" White Claw replied as he also powered up.

Meanwhile, a small white cat with a blue plume on her head, made her way up
the stairs of the tower and came to the second level. She then saw a man
dressed in dark clothes and leaning near an open window. The cat's eyes
narrowed as she saw that the man was holding a weapon in his hands and was
looking through a teloscopic targeting scope. She then noticed that four
other men were similarily positioned at other windows and were also holding
sniper rifles. She noted that the man closest to her was at a window where
some sunlight was glinting off the barrel of his weapon. Felicia assumed
that was what she saw on the ground below.

She didn't know what was going on, but judging by the angle in which they
were aiming their weapons, the cat woman knew that these thugs were up to
no good and were probably waiting to kill someone in the crowds below. She
decided to put a stop to that. Ranma's battle with the kohlinjar was a
personal affair and she was going to make certain that it would not be
interrupted.

She silently crept toward the nearest assasin. When she was about five feet
away, she sat down on her haunches and meowed. The Yakuza member looked
down at the transformed Cat Fighter and shrugged as he thought of her as
just some stray alley cat. He turned back to watching fight through his
targeting scope. He and his cohorts knew about the Felinar, but did not
think that she was anything like them. After all, those Neko Ken fighters
transformed into huge predators, not cute little housepets. They had
nothing to fear from this puny cat, right?

That was when Felicia smirked and triggered her transformation.

Down at the airfield, the crowds continued to cheer as the match continued.
Never had a Combat Challenge gone on for this long. White Claw and his
opponent were giving them quite a show and it seemed that the fight was
nearing its peak. They applauded and shouted as the fighters continued to
launch devastating attacks against one another. One thing was for certain.
Only one of the fighters would come out of this in one piece.

Behind the bleachers, where Ukyo and the Diggers family were seated,
Felicia dusted off her hands as she dropped the last of the unconscious
hitmen in a tidy pile, alongside the mangled remains of their weapons. It
had taken the catwoman no less than a minute to take care of the assasins.
After binding them up with their own belts and neckties, she decided to
return to the arena and watch the end of the match. She returned to her cat
form and padded off. 

White Claw dodged three fast jabs to the face, but realized too late that
the blows were a distraction as Kojiro launched a reverse spin kick to his
midsection. The kick connected with enough force to shatter reinforced
concrete. White Claw stood his ground however and grabbed the leg as it
hit. He applied intense pressure and twisted the ankle as he kicked out at
Ranma's other leg, sweeping him off the ground. As his opponent was up in
the air for a moment, the kohlinjar swung him by the leg and threw him
toward the stands.

Kojiro twisted so that he'd land on his feet and rebounded off the walls of
one of the backboards that protected the crowds. He winced a bit as he
landed. His right ankle where White Claw had grabbed him had suffered a
minor sprain when he rebounded off the backboard. He bit down and ignored
the pain as he saw White Claw leaping up to fire off a chi blast.

"WHITE TIGER FLASH!"

Ranma countered with his own chi projectile.

"RAGING TIGER BOLT!"

The two chi blasts canceled each other out, but White Claw used the
distraction to launch a side kick toward his opponent. Ranma just barely
managed to twist out of the way so that he would not be struck in the
chest. However, White Claw's foot slammed hard into his right shoulder. A
sickening, popping sound was heard as the junction where his arm bone met
his shoulder was struck. 

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!"

"Ko-Chan!" Ukyo screamed out as she saw Ranma take a hard hit to his
shoulder.

Pain flared down his arm, but Ranma managed to roll over to one side as
White Claw landed. Seeing that the Felinar was slightly off-balanced, he
lashed out with his uninjured leg and knocked his opponent off his feet.
Using the temporary reprieve he scrambled away and got some distance
between them.

White Claw did a forward roll and was on his feet in an instant. He looked
to where his foe was and smirked as he saw Kojiro unsteadily standing some
twenty feet away. He was clutching at his right arm and was in serious
pain. The kohlinjar knew that his opponent's right shoulder had gotten
dislocated from that last kick.

Wasting no time, since he needed both his arms, Ranma bit down and slammed
his fist to the ground while using his other arm to keep the injured limb
straight. As soon as the fist hit the tarmac, he pushed upward and the arm
snapped back into its socket. The pain he felt was excruciating but he
refused to cry out. He stood up and gave his arm a few practice motions to
make certain that it was set back into place. He then took a ready stance
as the crowds cheered on and even White Claw was impressed.

The kohlinjar nodded and clapped his hands in light applause. "Well done,
Kojiro. That can be painful, eh?"

"Not as much pain as I'm going to dish out!" Ranma retorted.

"Oh really?" White Claw said with amusement. He then looked around and saw
that the roar of the crowds was now defeaning. Now was the time for this
game and Kojiro's existence to end. He took a stance and began focusing his
chi. "You have lasted far longer than I would have expected Kojiro. For
that, I thank you for the wonderful show you have given me. You have proven
yourself worthy of feeling the force of my greatest attack! At FULL power
this time!"

"Bring it on!" Ranma replied as he took an identical stance.

White Claw smiled as he saw that this was it. The signal for his hit men to
take out the council would be the release of his final technique. What he
didn't know was that his assassins were no longer available. 

The crowd was hushed as the two combatants glowed with an intense light.
The world became silent as two of the most powerful users of the Neko Ken
were about to unleash their full potentials. In the stands, certain people
were riveted to the outcome of this battle.


Soun?

<Ranma shall marry my Akane and carry on the Anything Goes! Oh happy day! >

Genma?

<Unbelievable! With such power, the future of the Anything Goes nad my
retirement is assured! >

Kasumi?

<Oh? my! >

Nabiki?

<He's going to make me a LOT of yen! >

Akane?

<? >

Ukyo?

<Ko-chan? be careful! >

Shampoo?

<Aiyah! Airen! >

Cologne?

<Son-in-law? you shall make the Amazons great again! >

It was at that moment that the two Felinar warriors let each other have it.

"CAT? FIST? FURY!"

White Claw's aura took on the shape of his tiger form and charged forward.
His physical body elongated and merged into the attack. To the observer, it
looked as if White Claw had become a ghostly image of his tiger form, but
was ten times larger! The apparition charged at Ranma like a bullet train,
intent on sending him into oblivion!

Ranma however, shouted out at the same time his opponent did.


"CAT? FIST? FURY!"

Ranma's aura exploded forward and became a dark image of his own feline
form. In an instant, he was enveloped into it and became a huge dark shadow
in the shape of his own feline form. It too grew in size as the two attacks
hurtled toward each other. 

When the two forces collided, there was a tremendous explosion of chi.
White light tried to stab out and pierce the darkness as shadows tried to
engulf the brillance. The ground shook underneath the conflicting forces
and the crowds backed off as debris began flying. The enrgies pulsated and
violently flashed as the White Claw and Ranma's Tiger Spirits battled each
other for domination. For a long, agonizing moment, it seemed that the two
forces would destroy each other. Then a scream of rage was heard, as the
black light of Ranma's attack suddenly pushed White Claw's attack back like
a raging tsunami. The white light became dispelled and the black shadow
took its tiger form for an instant and charged forward. White Claw was seen
for a moment before he was enveloped into the energies of Kojiro's attack.
The crowds behind him scattered as the attack continued on. The bleacher
were smashed into splinters as the attack raged forward, carrying White
Claw with it.

The attack dug a wide trench into the ground and continued on toward the
abandoned tower. Just as it was about to strike the tower, Ranma tumbled
out of the attack and rolled to a stop. The energies that he had been
directing from within continued to drive forward, slamming into the tower
with enough force to cause it to topple over. There was another explosion
as the energies that formed Ranma's attack scattered about and finally
detonated. The entire structure was reduced to a smoldering pile as the
dust clouds created from its destruction obscured all sight.

Ranma was panting hard and his clothes were in tatters and he tried to get
up. He was on all fours and feeling major pain wracking through his body.
He felt as if he had nothing left to give and was glad that is was all
over. As the dust was beginning to settle, he looked up toward the
destroyed tower. There was no possible way that White Claw could have
survived.

Behind him, the crowds began to gather behind him, but still maintained a
comfortable distance. The Felinar Council were in front as they needed to
verify that White Claw had indeed been defeated. Behind them were the
Diggers family, the Tendos, the Amazons Genma, Ukyo and Felicia, who had
decided to shift to her humanoid form. No one noticed her as every one
waited in silence for the outcome.

It was then that Ranma saw something moving from within the dust clouds. He
winced as he got to his feet. He couldn't believe it. It wasn't possible!

But it was. A dark shadow was seen as someone moved toward the edge of the
carnage. When he stepped out into view, Ranma's blood went cold as the
crowd gasped. The figure continued to approach him and then stopped to
stand ten feet away from his opponent.

White Claw was a mess! His tunic had been torn completely off and there
were some very ugly gashes in his furred chest and his face. His body was
battered but still standing defiantly. He looked over and saw that the
Council members were still alive. There was no point in trying to assainate
them now. He knew that his plan had failed, but did not care. His gaze
became fixated on Ranma, who was taking a stance against him.
"I? would have never believed that you could repel my final attack. To
think that an outsider could master the Felinar's fighting style." White
Claw paused then held up a hand, clenching a fist. He looked down at it.
"At last! I feel truly alive in years! My blood is on fire as it rushes
through my veins!" He then saw Ranma with rage in his eyes. "SABER CLAW!"

Both fighters then charged each other at the same time, letting off inhuman
roars as they let loose with a furious assault on each other. Ranma didn't
know where he got the strength, but he somehow managed to reach down within
himself and called up the Tiger Spirit again. He ignored the pain and
damage that was being inflicted by his opponent as they mercilessly slashed
and punched at each other. Ranma and White Claw were now acting purely on
instinct. This was no longer a question of who was the better fighter. It
was a question of wanted it the most. For what seemed to be an eternity,
the two continued to tear each other apart, not even blocking or countering
each other's moves. Then, Ranma finally put an end to it.

As another slash came toward his chest, Kojiro swerved to one side and
trapped White Claw's extended arm in his hand. He quickly raised it and
then sent a hard blow to the armpit. There was a loud snap as the arm bone
was forced from its socket. Before White Claw could counter, Ranma sent a
hard right cross to his chin and sent him reeling. As White Claw stumbled
back with a dislocated shoulder, Ranma released his final attack.

"FINAL ATTACK? SABER CLAW STORM!"

Ranma suddenly launched himself at White Claw in a pumped up version of his
Berserker's Rage attack. White Claw found himself helpless to defend
against it as Ranma slashed, punched and kicked in brutal combinations,
moving so fast that the human eye could not discern when he was punching,
kicking or slashing. In another instant, Ranma was delivering ten of his
Saber Slash Kicks, then sent White Claw's body flying upward with a Rising
Slash Kick. He then ended the attack with not one, not two but FIVE, Double
Rip Claw Slashes in rapid succession. How White Claw's body managed to hold
together after such an intense mauling, no one could tell, but it did.
Ranma landed lightly on his feet after completing the technique. White Claw
landed heavily onto his back. He then began to stir.

Ranma couldn't believe it. After all that, White Claw was still moving?

However, White Claw did not try to attack Ranma. He was barely able to
stand and face his opponent. He gritted his teeth and gave Ranma that same
irritating smirk, even though his body was now bleeding profusely from
hundreds of deep wounds. He then forced the words to his mouth.

"What? do you? know?" He gasped. "I? have been? defeated. I? have savored
our battle? Saber Claw. I have not felt such satisfaction in a? long time?"

Ranma said nothing as he waited for White Claw to continue.

White Claw nodded. "Such a pity that? I refuse to live with such disgrace."
He then raised a bloodied hand to his throat. "Farewell? Saber Claw?
kohlinjar!"

To the horrified eyes of Ranma and all those outside of the Felinar, White
Claw then slashed his own throat and toppled to the ground. His body jerked
for a moment and then became still.

"White Claw!" Ranma cried out and tried to move toward him. However, his
body was too exhausted and he fell onto the ground. Ukyo chose that moment
to dash forward toward her fianc?e.

Shampoo also tried to move forward to give her intended the Kiss of
Marriage, but was stopped when someone blocked her way. She looked up and
saw that a strange catwoman barred her way. She looked up and saw Brittany
Diggers in her hybrid form shaking her head at her.

It was then that the High Council and Pantheron moved forward to where
Ranma lay on his back, his head cradled by Ukyo's lap.

Jagular looked down at the victor and smiled down at him. He then turned to
face the crowds and raised a hand. "Hail Saber Claw! Kohlinjar!"

The other members of the council looked at each other, then nodded
collectively as they too cried out simultaneously. "Hail our new
kohlinjar!"

The crowds began to cheer as they repeated his name and new title.

"HAIL SABER CLAW! KOHLINJAR!"

Ranma was shocked beyond words. What were they talking about? Why were they
calling him??

Pantheron walked up to Ranma and Ukyo and said, "Who is this girl,
kohlinjar?"

"I? don't understand." Ranma managed to say. "Why are you??"

Night Stalker knelt down ans said in a firm voice, "The Council has
selected you to be the new kohlinjar. As such, I must ask you again. Who is
this girl?" He gestured to Ukyo, who became a bit apprehensive. "Is she
your? kohlinshor?"

"Huh?" Ranma didn't understand what was going on. He was about ask what the
word 'kohlinshor' meant, when Bastet decided to intervene.

<For herrr sake, you'd betterrr say yes, my avatarrr.>

Ranma was startled to hear Bastet's voice in his head, but then everything
started to go black. Before slipping into unconsciousness from exhaustion
and his wounds, he nodded and whispered his response. "Yes."

That was all Pantheron needed to hear as he addressed Ukyo. "What is your
name?"

"Uh, Ukyo Kounji." The okonomiyaki chef was still confused as the Felinar
bowed his head to her respectfully.

"Welcome to Felinar Clan? Lady Ukyo."

Ukyo began contemplating fainting alongside Ranma.

On the sidelines, Genma and Soun were trying their best to get to where
Ranma lay. Seeing that he was unconscious and helpless, they saw this as
the perfect opportunity to get him to the dojo. However, the two
subordinates of Night Stalker and a certain catwoman were in their way.

"You shall NOT approach our kohlinjar without his permission!" Cutter said
as he and his twin brother blocked their passage.

"See here! We are here to retrieve my future son-in-law!" Soun said with
outrage.

"His fianc?e is waiting for him!" Genma added as he too tried to get around
the twins.

Felicia then received a telepathic message from Bastet.

<Kojiro has already selected his kolinshorr and it is NOT one of Soun's
diughterrrs. >

Felicia nodded as she then leaned over and whispered into Quick Slash's
ear. The Felinar glanced at where Ukyo was and then shifted to hybrid form.
His brother followed suit.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Soun said as he went into his Demon Head attack. "HE
WILL MARRY MY DAUGHTER?"

"You lie." Quick Slash said simply, not affected in the least at Soun's
pathetic attack. "The kohlinshor has already been chosen. Now LEAVE!" The
Felinar Twins took aggressive stances and prepared to tear into the two
idiots.

Genma gulped as he saw the two become pseudo-weretigers, then noted that
the crowd around them were also getting hostile toward them.

"Uhhhhh? Tendo!"

Soun's Demon Head deflated the moment he saw more Felinars shift to their
hybrid forms. After seeing what Ranma was capable of in that form, he
wasn't THAT foolhardy to go up against dozens like him. Reluctantly, he and
Genma ushered his family out of the airfield. However, he and Genma were
still trying to think of a way to get their hands on Ranma.

Meanwhile, the Amazons were facing off against Brittany Diggers and her
party. Shampoo was outraged at facing off against the werecheetah again and
being denied her rightful husband. However, Cologne was more sensible and
saw that the odds were clearly stacked against them. She motined for her
great-granddaughter to follow her, and after a bit of cajoling and stern
looks, the purple-haired complied. The Amazons followed the Tendos out of
the airfield.

As Ranma was being lifted onto a stretcher to be taken away for healing,
Ukyo was then sandwiched between Pantheron and another one of his
subordiantes.

"Please come with us, Lady Ukyo."

Ukyo then found her voice and asked. "Why? are you calling me 'Lady' Ukyo?"

Pantheron looked at her with a bit of puzzlement. "Is that not the correct
term to address our kohlinjar's future lifemate?"

That was when Ukyo fainted with a smile on her face.

To be continued?

Author's notes

Whew! That took a while to write! In any case, for those of you who are
wondering, yes I was inspired by Fatal Fury 2 after watching Terry and
Wolfgang Krauser's battle. Now Ranma's battle with White Claw is over, but
his troubles are just starting! Tune in next chapter as we hear more about
Ranma's new position as the kohlinjar.